Nana walked at the front. She raised a hand and knocked on the door five times: three long knocks and two short ones.
The door silently opened a crack. Nana slipped inside, and the other three followed.
Seeing three more people enter, Xu Haolong was about to speak when Xiao Hongchen raised a fist and knocked him straight into a deep sleep.
Meng Hongchen's Ice Toad Poison turned into white mist and swept toward the black building. Under the cover of Xiao Hongchen's Mirror Flower Water Moon, the White-Clad Holy Servants noticed nothing amiss.
A minute passed.
"Fall, fall."
At Meng Hongchen's words, the White-Clad Holy Servants all collapsed to the ground, one after another.
Nana led everyone farther inside. At a desk, she placed a hand on its surface and pressed down.
With a creak of hidden gears, an entrance about a square meter in size opened in the side of the desk.
They hurried down the straight passageway.
After descending about five meters, they reached a spacious hall. It was far larger than the room above, covering roughly three hundred square meters, yet it felt gloomy and empty.
At the far end, two people sat on either side of a desk. They were also dressed in white and wore hoods, but their robes were decorated with silver patterns.
The two were talking.
"Big Brother, what happened at headquarters? Why does the elder keep rushing over there? I asked him, but he wouldn't say."
"Seems some of our comrades were captured. I don't know the specifics either. If he didn't tell you, don't dwell on it."
Suddenly, they both turned their heads. Xiao Hongchen and the others were already standing before them.
The burly Great Holy Spirit glanced at Nana behind them and immediately understood the situation.
"Holy Servant No. 6, how dare you betray the Holy Emperor? Betray us?"
The Great Holy Spirit's deep, muffled voice rang out.
Nana stood behind Xiao Hongchen, staring straight at him.
"I never joined you in the first place."
The Second Holy Spirit frowned and took half a step forward.
"Big Brother, these children—"
The Great Holy Spirit turned his gaze away from Nana and swept it over the four of them.
"Since you found your way here, don't expect to leave in one piece."
When the Great Holy Spirit's gaze landed on Xiao Hongchen's face, however, his expression changed. He looked him over again.
"What a pretty boy. Become my male servant, and I'll spare your life."
"You're asking for death!"
"Hahaha, Bro, how'd you get picked by a man like that?"
"Shut up." Xiao Hongchen put on a fierce front.
Ye Guyi and Nana beside him also wore peculiar expressions.
Damn you, Great Holy Spirit. You've earned yourself a death sentence!
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Hongchen's eyes. He swept his right hand, sending countless grains of Sand Iron at the Great Holy Spirit. Iron Sand Rain!
At the same time, six Soul Rings rose from the Second Holy Spirit. They instantly flared as if burning, turning into black flames that engulfed his body.
Within the black flames, the Second Holy Spirit's body suddenly strained. His clothes burst apart, and he shot up to over three meters tall. The flesh vanished from his body, leaving him in the shape of a massive black skeleton.
Iron Sand Rain crashed into the skeleton with a clatter, bouncing off and leaving cracks across its bones, but failing to pierce through.
Xiao Hongchen's gaze darkened. "Is that even human?"
The Second Holy Spirit's unusual Evil Soul Master technique, which manipulated souls to instantly set his Soul Rings ablaze, had raised him to a level comparable to a seven-ring Martial Soul Avatar.
His body was so powerful that even a Level 6 Soul Tool couldn't stand against it. He was not only immensely strong, but astonishingly fast as well.
On the other side, the Great Holy Spirit sprang to his feet with a roar. The first two of his Soul Rings also burst into black flames. Six skeletons emerged from the cracked wall and, alongside the giant black skeleton formed by the Second Holy Spirit, surged toward them like a tidal wave.
"Plan's changed!" Xiao Hongchen shouted. "You deal with the smaller skeletons!"
He took a deep breath and released all the Sand Iron stored in his belt.
The belt was set with twelve Starlight Sapphires. Each one was small, but together they were half the size of the Starlight Sapphire in Mingde Hall that could hold Experimental Subject No. 1.
Sand Iron spiraled and churned around Xiao Hongchen, gathering into a thicker and thicker mass. A black storm whipped up, bearing down on the entire space.
The giant black skeleton sensed the threat. It raised a bony arm and abruptly swung it at him.
Xiao Hongchen didn't dodge.
He thrust both hands upward.
Sand Storm Grand Burial!
Metallic Sand Iron surged upward like a tsunami, layer upon layer engulfing the black skeleton.
Trapped at the heart of the Sand Iron current, the giant skeleton let out a low hiss and struggled with all four limbs, but it was pressed down inch by inch.
Xiao Hongchen stood at the edge of the sandstorm, fine sweat beading on his forehead. The drain on his Spiritual Power was considerable, but his expression remained composed.
"Stay put, you skeleton dog!"
He spoke under his breath and brought his palms together, crushing the skeleton completely beneath the Sand Iron.
The Sand Iron coiled tighter and tighter around it, wrapping it up completely and packing even the gaps between its bones. At last, it solidified in the middle of the hall.
A small pyramid stood silently on the stone floor of the underground hall.
At the same time, elsewhere—
Meng Hongchen had already engaged two skeletons. Ice Toad Poison covered the entire area, but it didn't seem to pose much of a threat to them.
Nana, meanwhile, was in a somewhat perilous situation.
A skeleton had driven her into a corner, its bony arm slamming down at her again and again, each blow carrying tremendous force.
Nana activated her First Soul Skill, Shadow Speed Boost, and her Second Soul Skill, Ghost Clone. Her speed surged as she split into three clones to confuse her opponent.
But with her three-ringed strength, facing a skeleton was already a true fight for her life.
She could only dart and dodge through space using the properties of her Ghost Martial Soul, barely managing to avoid each blow.
To the left, Ye Guyi stood with her sword held across her body.
Three skeletons charged at her at once. She didn't retreat. Holy power surged from her, and golden-white light erupted around her, dazzling as a small sun descending into the underground hall.
As her holy light spread, the entire underground hall brightened.
The three skeletons were engulfed in its radiance. The black flames on their bones hissed as if they had encountered their natural nemesis, and their steps instinctively faltered for an instant as they staggered backward.
Ye Guyi swept her long sword across. With each slash, a skeleton fell with a crash and turned to ash.
She dealt with them in just three strokes.
Her Holy Angel Martial Soul was born to be the nemesis of evil creatures—and of Evil Soul Masters.
As long as she killed and purified an evil creature, she could draw pure purifying power from it to replenish her Soul Power and improve her cultivation. This was her greatest trump card.
A look of fear appeared on the Great Holy Spirit's face.
His Evil Martial Soul was actually trembling in the presence of a girl whose cultivation was only at the Soul Ancestor level.
The Holy Angel Martial Soul truly was the greatest nemesis of Evil Soul Masters!
"An angel—you're an angel?! If you're an angel, so much the better. I'll kill you today, before your wings have fully grown!"
Before you continue